Week 13- March 30th through April 6th
Week 13! Wow, with only 13 days left, I’ve gotta admit I’m pretty anxious to go home. But, going home and leaving Manchester aren’t one and the same. I miss my family, and from my daily e-mail updates (thanks mom), it seems like I’m missing out on a lot: sister’s prom and art exhibition, sick relatives, even getting the old car fixed in our garage seems like events I should be home for. However, once I get home I know I’ll miss Britain and all my friends here. Looks like I’ll just have to live it up with what time I have left. Remember to check out he Gilman website if you are interested in a grant to help you study abroad.
March 30th
Woooooooo!!! Turned my essay in today! And, I think its actually pretty good too. Putting the final touches on and waiting in line to hand it in took up pretty much the entirety of my day, so nothing really happened. Sorry.
Friday 31st
Had my last actual class today. Hooray! No more drama. Although I can’t say I enjoyed the seminars too much, at least the class was interesting. I learned a lot about the tension between Ireland and Britain, and I got a pretty good perspective on post war England from this one class. I’ve also had a pretty good introduction to the theater; and I’d like to keep attending plays and even reading some drama. So although the seminar dragged on endlessly (like this blog sometimes), I can’t say I didn’t benefit from it.
Spring is here in Manchester! Freshly liberated from class I strolled through the city (not many people stroll in this bustling place, but I managed) and took in the beautiful sunshine. You can tell the first day of really warm weather because all the coats you’ve seen for about 5 long, gray months mysteriously disappear, and are replaced by bright t-shirts and flowing skirts. Can’t wait to go home and put some shorts and flip flops on; even cutting the grass in the blazing hot sun seems like a good time right about now.
Went on a 3 hour shopping extravaganza looking for a proper British present for my sister. This is one of those things you see everyone and their mother carrying (no its not an umbrella), but can never actually find one to buy for yourself. I know I must’ve looked like a shop lifter because I wore my big coat (who knew it would be so springy?), I still had on my book bag, and a big, hairy, guy doesn’t exactly belong in the ladies wear of Marks and Spencer’s. So despite marching around all-day and braving the suspicious looks I received in every ladies department I dared enter, I came home exhausted, frustrated, and empty handed. I literally shopped till I dropped, coming home and taking a 3-hour nap.
April 1st
Decided to do some more shopping today, as we also need gifts for the Finns, and this time I wizened up and took a professional shopper, Megan, with me. Of course we found what I was looking for yesterday straight away, but in a friggin’ men’s store. Grrr…
The center of Arndale Market (the shopping center) had been turned into some kind of Arabic market for the day complete with rugs, carpets, tents, leather bags, furniture, artists, even musicians and a belly dancer. Megan was none to pleased with the dancer’s rhythmic gyrations, but she managed to captivate quite a good portion of men in the area.
Later that night, we went to Ross’s with a few other folks and just hung out there way too late. It was a really good, laid back kind of night. Ross and his flat mate, the Welshman and an Englishman respectively, emphatically state that England and Wales ARE indeed countries, so I have them on my side. Megan has all the book learning, but these guys are locals so I sticking with them. Their argument: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland all have separate football teams, so obviously they are separate countries. In this place, football rules all.
When you come home and can’t even get a kebab because the all night take-aways are shut, you know you’ve been out a long time. Had to squeeze in a very brief sleep before our early morning ride to Chester tomorrow.
April 2nd
After a surprisingly refreshing 3 hours of sleep, we were on our way to Chester. Chester is about an hour's drive southwest of Manchester (lots of “---chesters” here in England).
The international society arranged for us to have a walking tour throughout most of the city, and then we’d have the afternoon to ourselves to do as we pleased. The Romans founded Chester as a fort, so there are still lots of ruins, gardens, and artifacts that the city is quite proud of. They even have the largest Roman amphitheater (where they used to have gladiator fights and what not) in all of Britain, but its not completely excavated yet. There are Roman walls that circle around the 2.2 miles of the city center and you can walk completely around them for a pretty good view of the city and surrounding areas. I think you can even see some mountains all the way in Wales over the eastern part. The walls also house the second most photographed clock in Britain; the East Gate Clock was built in honor of the queen’s jubilee and is apparently a big deal here.
Chester is very proud of its history and it takes a great effort to preserve as much of the past as it can. Bridges, Roman arches, churches, cobblestone streets, and Victorian architecture; it’s all there just as it was centuries ago. During the summer, they even have an official town crier come out once a day and give the news.
Megan and I took a tour of Chester cathedral. I’m not sure when it was built, but trust me its old. It was originally a monastery for monks until King Henry the VIIIth (at least I think that’s who it was) closed it down. However, the church managed to find some loophole, and it didn’t close down completely and its still holds mass to this day. The building was built in honor of St. Wurburgh, and until recently, it used to house her bones. The stained glass windows were the size of entire walls from the churches I’m used to back home, and they were absolutely brilliant. The tour was pretty cheap, and you get this special headphone set that gives you a tour and points out all the history and hidden secrets of the cathedral. This way you walk around at your leisure, and the headset picks up a radio signal when you are near a point of interest, and it starts to tell you the information. The church was massive, and you really got a good feel for what it must have been like hundreds for years ago for the monks that called this place home.
After the Chester Cathedral, we circled the city over the windy walls, and then walked along the banks of the River Dee in search of some place with hot tea. Unfortunately, Chester is kind of like other smaller English towns in that they close down around 4 on Sundays. Well we waited about 15 minutes in the cold and rain for our bus to come back, and finally we were on our way back home for some much needed dinner and sleep.
April 3rd
Oh man. I slept for like 14 hours. It was fantastic. I feel so good now.
Kept up with the relaxing theme of the day and read a really good book pretty much all day, while sitting in front of my sunny window. Everyone has gone home now, so the usually loud and crazy dorm has fallen eerily silent. It’s starting to creep me out. Now it’s just me, Megan, and two other kids in a space that used to hold about 50. It’s like a tomb, but hey, at least no one is around to steal my food anymore.
Tuesday 4th
Today was Megan’s birthday!!! We had planned a trip down to Birmingham and the wonderfully Willy Wonka-esque tour of Cadbury World, but alas, Cadbury World managed to sell out. No golden tickets for us, but we went ahead with our trip and explored what the city had to offer.
So what did Birmingham have to offer? Well not too much according to what we found in my handy dandy travel guide and Megan’s research on the web. It’s the second largest city in England (London ranking in at #1, and Manchester around 3 or 4), but there aren’t many historical sites or special attractions. Just so you know, it’s about 2 and a half hours drive south of Manchester, right in the center of the country between Nottingham and us.
One of the highlights of Birmingham is shopping, so we did some of that. They have a massive shopping center called “The Bull Ring”, that is absolutely massive and has a really cool modern kind of design. The entire outside of the place is covered in shiny, mirror like structures; the light dances and shimmers off of the building, the same way it does off of a scaly fish. Right next door to the mall area are two giant city blocks dedicated solely to markets and stalls. Second hand goods, flea markets, auctions, discount prices on brand new things, fish and chips, fruit, DVDs, kebabs you name it, they’ll sell it. And they won’t hesitate to tell you how high quality their product is, and what a good deal you’re getting. Megan and I couldn’t resist picking up a few gifts and things, and then we grabbed some fish and chips for lunch.
Oh man, I almost forgot. We found…you’ll never believe this…I don’t even believe this…a…KRISPY KREME!!!! AHHHH!!!! The bright red “Fresh Hot Donuts” sign called out to us from across the mall, and like moths attracted to your porch light, we stumbled over. I could not believe it. I was literally stunned. I couldn’t even order properly. I just stood there, watching the beautiful, glistening, poofy dough run through the magical donut-making machine. We must have looked absolutely stupefied because the woman behind the counter, an angel of happiness, asked us “Have you two ever been to a Krispy Kreme before?” Ever been to a Krispy Kreme!? Lady, I’m from the home of Krispy Kreme. North Carolina: Tobacco, ACC basketball, pulled pork barbecue, Pepsi cola, and Krispy Kreme donuts; this is my home! By this point we must have had drool running down our faces, and she says, “Here love, try these while you decide.” And this beautiful woman hands me two hot and fresh originals. Just gives ‘em away! For free! Like its nothing! AHHH! I almost shat myself with surprise. I almost tried to give them back; this poor, confused creature was just handing out free Krispy Kremes. Well as you can see, this just made my day.
After this we walked along the city’s scenic canals down to the Eye of Birmingham, and we got a bird’s eye view of the city. Then we moved on to the Birmingham sea life center, which was pretty cool. The aquarium has all kinds of fish and other sea life, so it was pretty interesting to see. They even have a clear, glass tunnel that runs right through the aquarium so you can walk through and see sharks and sea turtles swim right overhead. Luckily for Megan, we got there just in time for the otter feedings, so she was just thrilled. The otters don’t look so cute and cuddly when they are decapitating dead baby chicks, devouring the body in like two bites, and then playing with the amputated head for about 20 minutes. Vicious bastards.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city. Found another shopping area called “The Mailbox”, as the giant red building is shaped and painted like an actual mailbox. Filled with posh shops like Armani and Hugo Boss, and with trendy cafes and bistros along the canal we felt the place was slightly out of our price range, but it was interesting to see.
We managed to get to our bus without any problems this time, and we had a long drive home. Cooked up some lemon peppered chicken and had a little birthday cake before going to bed after another long day.
Wednesday 5th
Whoops! I had a lab practical due today! Wish I had remembered this the Monday I spent doing nothing. Oh well, I did manage to get it done and turned in on time.
Spent some time studying for my physiology final tomorrow. The Brits have a month long spring break for all of April, and then they come back and take their exams. I think this is a pretty crappy system. I’ve only been out of school like four days, and I’m studying for my exam at about 11 at night before the morning of my exam, and they expect these kids to go home and study and remember their classes over a month at home? Not a chance.
Thursday 6th
Finished my exam today, which I’m pretty sure went ok. I could’ve studied more, but I only need a 50%, so I’m not bothered. A monkey guessing at random will get 25%, so I think I can manage to scrounge up the other half.
Megan and I had planned to go to the only Mexican restaurant we’ve seen in all of Britain, El Macho, for a celebratory lunch. El Macho turned into El No-o when we saw the prices. 14 pounds enchiladas? 15 pounds for burritos? That’s like paying 20 something dollars just for one dish, not including drinks and a tip. No way. We went to Subway instead, which made me really happy as I’ve been craving it for about 3 weeks now.
Megan and I are planning a little dinner party for tomorrow, so we had to make a special shopping trip. We’re doing some shrimp pesto, with mushrooms, tomatoes, tomatoes, and lots of olive oil. We’re also making some garlic bread as well, and a friend of ours is bringing desert. Got some red wine to stick with the Italianess of the meal, but picked up some beer for the British. Should be lots of fun, if not a bit stressful. Never really cooked for this many people before, plus they all think that since we’re Americans with our precious McDonald’s and dining halls at university, we don’t know how to cook for ourselves. Hopefully, we’ll prove them wrong, while having a good time.
In case you haven’t read some of the blog’s comments, my sister dreamed that I died the other day! Ah! How scary is that?! That means it’s about time to come home.
March 30th
Woooooooo!!! Turned my essay in today! And, I think its actually pretty good too. Putting the final touches on and waiting in line to hand it in took up pretty much the entirety of my day, so nothing really happened. Sorry.
Friday 31st
Had my last actual class today. Hooray! No more drama. Although I can’t say I enjoyed the seminars too much, at least the class was interesting. I learned a lot about the tension between Ireland and Britain, and I got a pretty good perspective on post war England from this one class. I’ve also had a pretty good introduction to the theater; and I’d like to keep attending plays and even reading some drama. So although the seminar dragged on endlessly (like this blog sometimes), I can’t say I didn’t benefit from it.
Spring is here in Manchester! Freshly liberated from class I strolled through the city (not many people stroll in this bustling place, but I managed) and took in the beautiful sunshine. You can tell the first day of really warm weather because all the coats you’ve seen for about 5 long, gray months mysteriously disappear, and are replaced by bright t-shirts and flowing skirts. Can’t wait to go home and put some shorts and flip flops on; even cutting the grass in the blazing hot sun seems like a good time right about now.
Went on a 3 hour shopping extravaganza looking for a proper British present for my sister. This is one of those things you see everyone and their mother carrying (no its not an umbrella), but can never actually find one to buy for yourself. I know I must’ve looked like a shop lifter because I wore my big coat (who knew it would be so springy?), I still had on my book bag, and a big, hairy, guy doesn’t exactly belong in the ladies wear of Marks and Spencer’s. So despite marching around all-day and braving the suspicious looks I received in every ladies department I dared enter, I came home exhausted, frustrated, and empty handed. I literally shopped till I dropped, coming home and taking a 3-hour nap.
April 1st
Decided to do some more shopping today, as we also need gifts for the Finns, and this time I wizened up and took a professional shopper, Megan, with me. Of course we found what I was looking for yesterday straight away, but in a friggin’ men’s store. Grrr…
The center of Arndale Market (the shopping center) had been turned into some kind of Arabic market for the day complete with rugs, carpets, tents, leather bags, furniture, artists, even musicians and a belly dancer. Megan was none to pleased with the dancer’s rhythmic gyrations, but she managed to captivate quite a good portion of men in the area.
Later that night, we went to Ross’s with a few other folks and just hung out there way too late. It was a really good, laid back kind of night. Ross and his flat mate, the Welshman and an Englishman respectively, emphatically state that England and Wales ARE indeed countries, so I have them on my side. Megan has all the book learning, but these guys are locals so I sticking with them. Their argument: England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland all have separate football teams, so obviously they are separate countries. In this place, football rules all.
When you come home and can’t even get a kebab because the all night take-aways are shut, you know you’ve been out a long time. Had to squeeze in a very brief sleep before our early morning ride to Chester tomorrow.
April 2nd
After a surprisingly refreshing 3 hours of sleep, we were on our way to Chester. Chester is about an hour's drive southwest of Manchester (lots of “---chesters” here in England).
The international society arranged for us to have a walking tour throughout most of the city, and then we’d have the afternoon to ourselves to do as we pleased. The Romans founded Chester as a fort, so there are still lots of ruins, gardens, and artifacts that the city is quite proud of. They even have the largest Roman amphitheater (where they used to have gladiator fights and what not) in all of Britain, but its not completely excavated yet. There are Roman walls that circle around the 2.2 miles of the city center and you can walk completely around them for a pretty good view of the city and surrounding areas. I think you can even see some mountains all the way in Wales over the eastern part. The walls also house the second most photographed clock in Britain; the East Gate Clock was built in honor of the queen’s jubilee and is apparently a big deal here.
Chester is very proud of its history and it takes a great effort to preserve as much of the past as it can. Bridges, Roman arches, churches, cobblestone streets, and Victorian architecture; it’s all there just as it was centuries ago. During the summer, they even have an official town crier come out once a day and give the news.
Megan and I took a tour of Chester cathedral. I’m not sure when it was built, but trust me its old. It was originally a monastery for monks until King Henry the VIIIth (at least I think that’s who it was) closed it down. However, the church managed to find some loophole, and it didn’t close down completely and its still holds mass to this day. The building was built in honor of St. Wurburgh, and until recently, it used to house her bones. The stained glass windows were the size of entire walls from the churches I’m used to back home, and they were absolutely brilliant. The tour was pretty cheap, and you get this special headphone set that gives you a tour and points out all the history and hidden secrets of the cathedral. This way you walk around at your leisure, and the headset picks up a radio signal when you are near a point of interest, and it starts to tell you the information. The church was massive, and you really got a good feel for what it must have been like hundreds for years ago for the monks that called this place home.
After the Chester Cathedral, we circled the city over the windy walls, and then walked along the banks of the River Dee in search of some place with hot tea. Unfortunately, Chester is kind of like other smaller English towns in that they close down around 4 on Sundays. Well we waited about 15 minutes in the cold and rain for our bus to come back, and finally we were on our way back home for some much needed dinner and sleep.
April 3rd
Oh man. I slept for like 14 hours. It was fantastic. I feel so good now.
Kept up with the relaxing theme of the day and read a really good book pretty much all day, while sitting in front of my sunny window. Everyone has gone home now, so the usually loud and crazy dorm has fallen eerily silent. It’s starting to creep me out. Now it’s just me, Megan, and two other kids in a space that used to hold about 50. It’s like a tomb, but hey, at least no one is around to steal my food anymore.
Tuesday 4th
Today was Megan’s birthday!!! We had planned a trip down to Birmingham and the wonderfully Willy Wonka-esque tour of Cadbury World, but alas, Cadbury World managed to sell out. No golden tickets for us, but we went ahead with our trip and explored what the city had to offer.
So what did Birmingham have to offer? Well not too much according to what we found in my handy dandy travel guide and Megan’s research on the web. It’s the second largest city in England (London ranking in at #1, and Manchester around 3 or 4), but there aren’t many historical sites or special attractions. Just so you know, it’s about 2 and a half hours drive south of Manchester, right in the center of the country between Nottingham and us.
One of the highlights of Birmingham is shopping, so we did some of that. They have a massive shopping center called “The Bull Ring”, that is absolutely massive and has a really cool modern kind of design. The entire outside of the place is covered in shiny, mirror like structures; the light dances and shimmers off of the building, the same way it does off of a scaly fish. Right next door to the mall area are two giant city blocks dedicated solely to markets and stalls. Second hand goods, flea markets, auctions, discount prices on brand new things, fish and chips, fruit, DVDs, kebabs you name it, they’ll sell it. And they won’t hesitate to tell you how high quality their product is, and what a good deal you’re getting. Megan and I couldn’t resist picking up a few gifts and things, and then we grabbed some fish and chips for lunch.
Oh man, I almost forgot. We found…you’ll never believe this…I don’t even believe this…a…KRISPY KREME!!!! AHHHH!!!! The bright red “Fresh Hot Donuts” sign called out to us from across the mall, and like moths attracted to your porch light, we stumbled over. I could not believe it. I was literally stunned. I couldn’t even order properly. I just stood there, watching the beautiful, glistening, poofy dough run through the magical donut-making machine. We must have looked absolutely stupefied because the woman behind the counter, an angel of happiness, asked us “Have you two ever been to a Krispy Kreme before?” Ever been to a Krispy Kreme!? Lady, I’m from the home of Krispy Kreme. North Carolina: Tobacco, ACC basketball, pulled pork barbecue, Pepsi cola, and Krispy Kreme donuts; this is my home! By this point we must have had drool running down our faces, and she says, “Here love, try these while you decide.” And this beautiful woman hands me two hot and fresh originals. Just gives ‘em away! For free! Like its nothing! AHHH! I almost shat myself with surprise. I almost tried to give them back; this poor, confused creature was just handing out free Krispy Kremes. Well as you can see, this just made my day.
After this we walked along the city’s scenic canals down to the Eye of Birmingham, and we got a bird’s eye view of the city. Then we moved on to the Birmingham sea life center, which was pretty cool. The aquarium has all kinds of fish and other sea life, so it was pretty interesting to see. They even have a clear, glass tunnel that runs right through the aquarium so you can walk through and see sharks and sea turtles swim right overhead. Luckily for Megan, we got there just in time for the otter feedings, so she was just thrilled. The otters don’t look so cute and cuddly when they are decapitating dead baby chicks, devouring the body in like two bites, and then playing with the amputated head for about 20 minutes. Vicious bastards.
We spent the rest of the afternoon wandering around the city. Found another shopping area called “The Mailbox”, as the giant red building is shaped and painted like an actual mailbox. Filled with posh shops like Armani and Hugo Boss, and with trendy cafes and bistros along the canal we felt the place was slightly out of our price range, but it was interesting to see.
We managed to get to our bus without any problems this time, and we had a long drive home. Cooked up some lemon peppered chicken and had a little birthday cake before going to bed after another long day.
Wednesday 5th
Whoops! I had a lab practical due today! Wish I had remembered this the Monday I spent doing nothing. Oh well, I did manage to get it done and turned in on time.
Spent some time studying for my physiology final tomorrow. The Brits have a month long spring break for all of April, and then they come back and take their exams. I think this is a pretty crappy system. I’ve only been out of school like four days, and I’m studying for my exam at about 11 at night before the morning of my exam, and they expect these kids to go home and study and remember their classes over a month at home? Not a chance.
Thursday 6th
Finished my exam today, which I’m pretty sure went ok. I could’ve studied more, but I only need a 50%, so I’m not bothered. A monkey guessing at random will get 25%, so I think I can manage to scrounge up the other half.
Megan and I had planned to go to the only Mexican restaurant we’ve seen in all of Britain, El Macho, for a celebratory lunch. El Macho turned into El No-o when we saw the prices. 14 pounds enchiladas? 15 pounds for burritos? That’s like paying 20 something dollars just for one dish, not including drinks and a tip. No way. We went to Subway instead, which made me really happy as I’ve been craving it for about 3 weeks now.
Megan and I are planning a little dinner party for tomorrow, so we had to make a special shopping trip. We’re doing some shrimp pesto, with mushrooms, tomatoes, tomatoes, and lots of olive oil. We’re also making some garlic bread as well, and a friend of ours is bringing desert. Got some red wine to stick with the Italianess of the meal, but picked up some beer for the British. Should be lots of fun, if not a bit stressful. Never really cooked for this many people before, plus they all think that since we’re Americans with our precious McDonald’s and dining halls at university, we don’t know how to cook for ourselves. Hopefully, we’ll prove them wrong, while having a good time.
In case you haven’t read some of the blog’s comments, my sister dreamed that I died the other day! Ah! How scary is that?! That means it’s about time to come home.